2005-11-11 - Netzwelt.de: "Hardcore gaming cube for two graphics cards"

"This hardcore-gamers' cube doesn’t compromise in performance." The conclusion about the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN26P of the editors of the German hardware website Netzwelt.de was just sheer enthusiasm. It is the world’s first SFF PC packed with top notch SLI technology. Adding two graphics cards it makes the hearts of gaming fans beat faster. The editors especially praised its "high gaming performance" along with "easy assembly" and its "LAN-party ready dimensions." But there’s a lot more they discovered...

"Graphics performance at its best in such a small cube," this is exactly what the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN26P offers. Its testers from the German hardware website Netzwelt.de are impressed by the "gaming machine that doesn’t compromise in performance." This power dwarf proves that it does perform as a real "big one:" Putting two graphics cards in a conventional PC is quiet a challange, but "making them fit even in a such a small case is perfectly done by the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN26P."

Thanks to a "compact mainboard based on the nForce 4 SLI from Nvidia," the first SFF PC for SLI can use two Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX graphics cards without problems. Additionally the SN26P features high connectivity and a nice card reader for eight different formats. According to the editors, the performance of the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN26P is in no way inferior to conventional, big PCs with similar hardware. As a regular guest on LAN-parties, the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN26P draws the crowds thanks to its design making the competitiors standing small. It impresses with an "exceptional varnish looking like camouflage, rubber-like and is described as velvet surface." Its elegant matt black color underlines the cube’s "aggressive understatement" contrasting the shiny front panel nicely.

According to the experts of Netzwelt.de the assembly is very easy. Installing the components is a lot easier than it is done in conventional PCs: "You will only need to deal with screws when it comes to fixing the CPU cooler as well as for fixing the graphics cards." The most important cables are pre-routed and just need to be plugged in. Temperature is regulated with independently operating fans: "In order to avoid the PC dying of a heat stroke with two powerful graphics cards in it, the case is subdivided in totally three cooling zones for processor, drives and power supply."

Conclusion:

 "Hardcore gaming cube without compromises"

Pros:

• Very good gaming performance
• Easy assembly
• Thanks to its small dimensions very good for LAN-parties

Source: http://www.netzwelt.de/news/72800-shuttle-xpc-sn26p-im-test.html